REFUGEE CRISIS UNRESOLVED: Nine EU countries pledged — behind the closed doors of an EU ambassadors’ meeting Monday — to take in refugees recently rescued in the Mediterranean, two EU diplomats told Playbook. Eight of the countries are in the old West. The ninth, a notable exception in Central and Eastern Europe, is Romania, which holds the Council presidency. (Austria never bothered to lead by example in these sorts of cases during its own presidency.)

The problem: The pledges still fall short. Here’s the math: There are two ships in a Maltese port awaiting permission to disembark 49 migrants. But Malta rescued an additional 250 people over the past few weeks, and Valletta says they need to be part of any redistribution. EU diplomats told Playbook the nine countries’ pledges cover the 49 migrants aboard the Sea-Watch 3 and Professor Albrecht Penck, but leave the other 250 or so people in limbo.

Side note: Things wouldn’t change much if Malta let the 49 migrants ashore. But for Valletta, migration is a matter of principle, and the government wants the rest of the EU to take Malta as seriously as they take neighboring Italy and its insistence that it has taken enough refugees for a generation.

Silver lining: In the Monday meeting of ambassadors, Italy declared it would take some of the migrants — but only after they disembarked on Maltese soil, according to two diplomats.

Next attempt today: The Commission says it’s working on a solution. Countries have another opportunity to agree to chip in at today’s General Affairs Council — or rather at its margins. But even if that happens, it would be nothing more than yet another ad-hoc solution to a structural issue.

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GOOD MORNING. Monday was the strangest of days on German Twitter, seemingly a domain of the humorless. I waded through the mess so you don’t have to.

Act I: Green party leader Robert Habeck quit Twitter and Facebook, after discovering (“after a sleepless night”) that social media is a bad influence on his communication style. Queue folks feeling betrayed — or at least loudly claiming to be so, including on today’s Welt front page — and arguing about whether tweeting is a prerequisite for governing. (Chancellor Angela Merkel doesn’t tweet, but she’s an Instaqueen.)

Act II: Liberal supremo Christian Lindner’s team used their boss’ account to wish happy birthday to … Lindner. They were puzzled — as was Lindner himself — when people made fun of this blatant argument against following politicians’ personal accounts.

Act III: Seemingly every single pure German soul posted “Nazis out” messages — what courage! — to defend ZDF reporter Nicole Diekmann, who found herself in the middle of a shitstorm after mistaking Twitter for a good place for comedy. (She joked that every non-Greens voter is a Nazi.) The irony: Habeck was long gone from the social media sphere by the time the #NazisRaus hashtag started trending. Diekmann said she’ll take a bit of a break off Twitter too.

LATVIA CORNER

GOVERNMENT IN SIGHT: Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis nominated MEP Krišjānis Kariņš as the country’s next prime minister. Kariņš, from EPP party New Unity, accepted and said he intends to strike a five-partner coalition agreement within the next two weeks. It is the third attempt by Latvia’s political elite to form a government after the parliamentary election last October — and, if Kariņš succeeds, a powerful demonstration of the value of political experience versus (somewhat populist) fresh blood.

Background: Jānis Bordāns of the New Conservative Party (which campaigns on the single issue of justice) and Aldis Gobzems of the KPV LV (a party modeled on Matteo Salvini’s League) have both tried — and failed — to form a government in the fragmented Latvian parliament since the October 6 vote.

Waiting pays off: Kariņš’ Unity party held out, waiting to be approached after growing discomfort in the country about the government vacuum. American-born-and-raised Kariņš is respected by his European Parliament colleagues across the political spectrum (so they tell us) for his deal-making capabilities. (He’s the EPP’s coordinator on the industry committee.) And it turns out he could well be the compromise candidate Latvia’s parties were waiting for … and desperately so, judging from the provisional allocation of ministries.

Who gets what: The parties will get three ministers each, according to the plan. New Unity, despite being the smallest party in the would-be coalition, would not only get the prime ministership, but also the key ministries of foreign affairs (incumbent Edgars Rinkēvičs) and finance (Jānis Reirs, another well-known figure in Brussels from previous terms as a minister). Latvia’s public broadcaster LSM has the full Cabinet list.

No pressure! Kariņš imposed pressure on his soon-to-be partners by setting the two-week deadline for talks. He also said — keeping his options open — that he would have preferred a six-party coalition including current (caretaker) Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis’ Greens and Farmers Union.

Next step: A vote in parliament. The coalition should theoretically have 66 MPs out of 100, but may find itself falling short of that number — Gobzems, for example, said that he personally won’t back the new prime minister, after being snubbed for a government post. Pro-Russian Harmony, the biggest party in the parliament, and Greens and Farmers would form the opposition.

EU power arithmetics: The EPP would get its ninth EU summit participant.

**The Davos WEF Annual Summit is already in two weeks. Follow what’s happening in one of the most exclusive global forums through our Davos Playbook newsletter, kicking off on January 19, presented by Philip Morris International — sign up here, it’s free.**

ROMANIA’S BEAUTIES

GUYS, PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY WATCHING! Monday was yet another turbulent day in Romanian politics. Justice Minister Tudorel Toader called President Klaus Iohannis names over the latter’s reluctance to force Prosecutor General Augustin Lazăr into the retirement the government wants him to enjoy. Lazar and Iohannis have both backed Laura Codruța Kövesi, the country’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor, whom the government dismissed last year.

Presidential election: The date is yet to be set, but Romanians will elect a new president at the end of this year. A new poll out Monday suggests Iohannis has a massive lead over his competitors, among whom there are quite a few former prime ministers. (There have been eight or so of them since Iohannis entered office in 2014.)

THE WOLF PRESIDENCY: Is it a tank? Is it a ferry? No, it’s a wolf. The Romanian presidency’s logo “points out to an evolving, self-confident, dynamic European Union, which also remains attached to its core values,” according to the presidency’s website. “From the aesthetic perspective, the European Union was portrayed through the image of a wolf, an animal which is present in the mythology of most of the European cultures.”

For those who aren’t that into wolf mythology: “Additionally, the drawing illustrates a European Union which states its commitment towards protection of biodiversity.”

**What’s eating Brussels? European lawmakers will be working down to the legislative wire in 2019 in order to advance as many files as possible before the end of their mandate in May. Our Pro Agriculture and Food reporters explain the four issues they expect to dominate agri-food discussions throughout 2019. To access the subscriber only piece, email pro@politico.eu requesting a complimentary Pro Agri trial.**

POPULIST CORNER

DI MAIO GETS A YELLOW VEST: Italian 5Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio sided with France’s Gilets Jaunes in a message to protesters. He’s a bit late to the party of those attempting to take advantage of President Emmanuel Macron’s sorrows, but better late than never, right? Bottom line: As they’ve lurched through the party-political landscape of the EU, the 5Stars have ended up on the streets of Paris.

Speaking of the Yellow Jackets: France plans to introduce laws that will increase punishment of undeclared protests. Reuters has the details.

OPINION — POPULISTS DON’T WANT TO KILL THE EU … They want to transform it in their own vision, argues Alexander Clarkson in this op-ed for POLITICO. “In government, far-right populists are less likely to want to bring down the EU to their — and everybody else’s — disadvantage than to try to work the EU system to their advantage, harnessing it to their agenda,” he writes.

MEANWHILE, GOOD NEWS FROM POLAND (JUST DON’T TELL PIS): Jan Cienski writes that since Poland ditched communism in 1989, it has flourished. “But that isn’t a story the current Law and Justice party government is keen to tell. It’s more concerned with highlighting wartime bravery (and covering up wartime cravenness) than extolling something that really makes Poland stand out: Its long record of economic growth.”

US PIVOTS FROM OBAMA’S MIDEAST VISION: In a speech he’ll shortly deliver in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to repudiate the Middle East vision of former President Barack Obama, reports Nahal Toosi. But can foreign leaders trust that he speaks for the unpredictable President Donald Trump?

Speaking of which: Trump spoke with Emmanuel Macron by phone Monday. The two discussed the situation in Syria, “including the commitment of the United States and France to the destruction of ISIS as well as plans for a strong, deliberate, and coordinated withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria,” according to a White House readout of the call. “They reiterated that any further use of chemical weapons in Syria must not be tolerated.”

LE PERSONNEL

END OF AN ERA: Late Monday, CDU leadership in the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia voted Elmar Brok, the European Parliament’s longest-serving member, out of the party’s list for the next EU election, party officials told Playbook. Brok was expected to be number six on the list of the party’s largest regional organization. The last chance for him to get back on the list will be a showdown vote later this month. Leading the list, as expected: Peter Liese, followed by fellow MEPs Markus Pieper, Sabine Verheyen, Axel Voss and Dennis Radtke.

STRASBOURG PARACHUTE: Belgian (caretaker) Foreign Minister Didier Reynders wants to become secretary-general of the Council of Europe, VRT reports.

NEW ROLE I: Luxembourg’s PM Xavier Bettel will make the country’s deputy EU ambassador, Mike Hentges, his new main adviser on European affairs, Luxemburger Wort reports.

NEW ROLE II: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim is stepping down February 1, three years before the end of his term, to “join a firm and focus on increasing infrastructure investments in developing countries,” according to a statement. CEO and former European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva will become interim president.

NEW ROLE III: Kevin Granville will move to London to help oversee the New York Times’ European business coverage.

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